Interning at Enova: Organizational Development

The beginning of every new internship search is oftentimes accompanied with a feeling of euphoric optimism—a little voice yelling inside your head, “The world is your playground! Let’s go make things happen!”

Unfortunately, after countless hours of scanning every online job board in existence and typing upwards of fifty different keyword searches, you begin to feel like you’re well on your way to an onset of carpal tunnel and –inevitably – the initial luster fades.

I found my internship search particularly difficult because of the relative newness of my area of study: Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Luckily, just as I was about to claim ultimate defeat and collapse into a forlorn heap on my bed –resigning to an entire pint of Ben & Jerry’s while binge-watching Game of Thrones on Netflix — an e-mail appeared in my school inbox.

Enova International was searching for an Organizational Development intern. Wow, an internship with a title that matched my area of study and—after reviewing the job description—was housed within a fantastic company! The voice returned, and I was a bit more confident that it was not deceiving me this time: “The world is your playground!”

At face value, Enova truly is a playground; scooters to zip around to meetings, a plethora of games and activities, and a cafeteria reminiscent of high school (although I will admit that the food is much more satisfying than the hot lunches served at my high school—I still don’t know whether the “chicken-fried steak” was chicken, steak, or none of the above).

Looking past these surface traits though, this culture of play is rooted deep and truly sets the company apart from all others. As I reflect on what it’s like to work at Enova, I’m immediately reminded of psychologist Jean Piaget’s words: “Play is the answer to how anything new comes about.”

Enova is an intellectual playground, a place where everyone is a potential playmate—a partner to collaborate with and toy with new ideas.

It’s a jungle gym where smart and driven people can climb into a variety of projects across different functional areas. It’s a swing set where you can grab an idea and set it into motion, always counting on your colleagues to help you maintain your momentum and push you higher and higher. It’s a fast-paced soccer game where friendly competition and an expectation of hard work motivates the whole team to work together and score the big goal.

I can’t believe it has already been three months since I’ve begun my internship with Enova! I’ve certainly enjoyed every minute of it. I’ve played plenty, but I’ve also worked hard, and I look forward to continuing to make an impact. As I contemplate my future and all the possibilities at Enova, there’s that voice again, excited and optimistic: “Let’s go make things happen!”